OC Certified

OC Certified is a military class burn-in test for motherboards. Running Prime95 for over 24 hours with a highly overclocked CPU is already a stressing endeavor, but removing all airflow from the motherboard ensures that only the best motherboards survive. If a motherboard can survive this, it can survive any overclocking situation.

MSI Overclocking motherboards are equipped with all the necessary features to make sure you get the most out of your system. From the Enhanced PWM with a large amount of power phases and Thermal Design that give you the best stability, to all the easy features that ensure that you don't have to perform a lot of tricks to get great stability in your quest for performance.

OC PCB

The OC PCB used for the MSI overclocking motherboards has a completely new design in which 50% more layers are used compared to standard motherboards. This allows us to optimize all traces for overclocking. Power and signal traces are isolated, resulting in higher efficiency and performance and more features can be installed relatively close to each other without causing interference. Every MSI overclocking motherboard is tuned for better stability under extreme circumstances:

Increased number of PCB layers

Increased humidity resistance

Tight weave Fiberglass PCB

Increased ESD protection

DigitALL Power PWM

DigitALL Power digitally steers and receives feedback through a DigitALL PWM controller. This allows for pinpoint voltage delivery and lower power consumption.

Thermal design

Besides inspiring visual awe the MPOWER Thermal Design was developed to deliver the highest cooling potential in the worst situation. Because it is optimized to work in low-airflow situations, it is the ideal cooling to use with your liquid cooling setup.

MPOWER thermal design

SuperPipe

Low airflow

Optimized design

Clear CPU space

Metal screws

Extreme OC Socket Design

What is more frustrating than not being able to properly fit your cooling solution on your motherboard? Through feedback from professional overclockers, extensive research, unique design and the use of Military Class 4 components, we were able to create a lot of space around the socket making sure you can fit any cooling solution you want. Having this much space also makes it easier to insulate the motherboard for use with LN2 or other extreme cooling solutions.

8PCB
layers

Water Cooling Heatsink

Featuring a new unique heatsink design, MSI Z97 overclocking motherboards ensure the best cooling performance. Saving water cooling enthusiasts having to buy a waterblock for our motherboards, new generation overclocking models feature a no compromise built-in solution within the heatsink. So whether you choose a traditional air cooling or enthusiast water cooling solution, be sure to expect the lowest temperatures and maximum performance under the most extreme conditions.

OC Engine

Run into unstable situations when pushing your CPU to the limit? This occurs because the internal clocks are linked through the 100 MHz BCLK strap. Thanks to a integrated Clock Generator, MSI Z97 Overclocking motherboards support more flexible BCLK adjustments, from 100 / 125 / 167 MHz straps. Using these straps prevents system crashing while overclocking on the edge and opens doors to achieve the absolute maximum.

OC Essentials

A small set of tools that are essential to get the best performance out of your motherboard. These features increase stability, assist in trouble shooting, allow you to keep your complete system in check and allow for simple management. This way you can keep your mind on overclocking.

Multi-BIOS IIEasy Button 3Debug LEDV-Check Points 2Clear CMOSGO2BIOS

V-Check Points 2

After MOA feedback we enhanced the V-Check Points with 2 extra ground connectors. This way overclockers can use 3 multi-meters at the same time.

Do not use CPU-Z to measure voltages!
The increased switching frequencies and incompatibilities lead to large deviations.

CPU Input Voltage

IMC Voltage

Core0 Voltage

iGPU Voltage

Ring Bus Voltage

System Agent Voltage

Ground

Ground

Ground

Push your SSD to the limit

Enjoy a blazing fast system boot up and insanely fast loading of applications and games with MSI Overclocking motherboards. We offer the next generation of high speed storage support through M.2 and SATA Express. M.2 and SATA Express transfer data through a PCI Express 2.0 x2 interface up to 10 Gb/s, making it 67% faster than SATA 3.0 solutions.

Faster storage solutions with M.2

M.2 is the successor to mSATA, offering a 67% performance increase up to 10 Gb/s. M.2 is packed in a small form factor and is compatible with 3 different sizes to fit most storage solutions. All latest generation Intel® based MSI Overclocking motherboards feature M.2 storage.

Flexible fast storage with SATA Express

SATA Express introduces a new solution in high speed storage through PCI Express, providing more bandwidth for the latest generation SSDs. We offer flexible solutions with an M.2 to SATA Express converter for more convenience.

Data transfer speed6 Gb/s10 Gb/s10 Gb/sSATAM.2SATA EXPRESS

M.2 to SATA Express(Optional)

Military Class 4

Military Class 4 is the next step in high quality components. The Hi-C Cap, Super Ferrite Choke and Solid Caps will make sure that your PC runs more stable under extreme conditions.

Hi-c CAP

A Hi-c CAP is a very small, but super-efficient capacitor. Besides ensuring enough spacing around a CPU socket to install large coolers, it also allows for 93% energy efficiency. Thanks to Hi-c CAP`s MSI mainboards are the most energy efficient in the market.

Super Ferrite Chokes

Super Ferrite Choke uses a Ferrite core that is Super-Permeable. This allows the Super Ferrite Choke to run at a 35 degree Celsius lower temperature, have a 30% higher current capacity, a 20% improvement in power efficiency and better overclocking power stability.

Dark CAP

With their aluminum core design, Dark CAP's have been a staple in high-end motherboard design and provides lower Equivalent Series Resistance (ESR) as well as its over-10-year lifespan.

Focus on quality

We put extra effort in increasing customer satisfaction. Our RMA rate has drastically decreased in the last few years. To achieve the highest quality the MSI Overclocking motherboards are developed by our most senior engineers on the most advanced production lines.

We are continuously improving our customer services, so in case you might run into a problem you can be assured we offer a fast response to your questions and hand you in depth information on the subject.

Circuit Protection

Carefully selected materials, multiple PCB layers and shielding result in the best circuit protection for our overclocking motherboards.

ECO Power

With MSI ECO Center you can physically cut the power to unused chips to save up to 29% power usage.

Humidity Protection

High Temperature Protection

All key components used in MSI motherboards have all passed military testing ensuring stable operation in the harshest environments.

ESD Protection

Each and every I/O port is protected against the hazards of Electro Static Discharge.

EMI Protection

All MSI motherboards comply with stringent American FCC regulations and reduce the impact of Electromagnetic Interference.

Optimized for multiple graphics cards

MSI Overclocking motherboards feature perfectly aligned PCI-Express 3.0 slots with enough space for an optimal airflow when using multiple graphics cards. That way, you will never have to worry about an overheating PC, while you are enjoying the best graphics jumping off from your monitor when running a NVIDIA® SLI™ or AMD CrossFire™ gaming setup.

CeaseFire Lite

When you are overclocking with LN2 and 4 VGA cards and simply want to benchmark using 3 or less VGA cards you don't have to physically remove one or more cards thanks to CeaseFire Lite, saving you a lot of time. With MSI CeaseFire Lite it is very easy to disable one of the PCI-E x16 slots with a simple switch in the BIOS.

Click BIOS 4

The MSI Click BIOS 4 is the latest UEFI BIOS with optimizations for Windows 8. Not only that it also reacts faster, runs smoother and has better mouse support. And this all comes with many cool features. Click on the button on the right to visit our dedicated BIOS page and learn more.

Overclocking software

MSI Overclocking motherboards are equipped with advanced overclocking software tools to fine tune even the most in-depth OC settings with ease.

MSI Command Center

MSI's Command Center software is a very powerful tool to push your motherboard to the max. With a very intuitive touch ready interface, Command Center allows users to tune settings to increase system stability, maximize overclocking performance and adjust cooling features.

MSI Command Center Lite

This lightweight overclocking tool doesn't need installation and doesn't occupy unnecessary system resources lowering system benchmark scores. With a single mouse click you have access to the most important overclocking features.

RAMDisk

MSI Command Center integrates an unlimited RAMdisk with the retail value of $35. With a RAMdisk you can create a virtual drive from your system memory enabling speeds 20x faster than a modern SSD. There are options to load complete game images, you can speed up your browser or your page file which increases your whole game system performance.

Audio Boost

Reward your ears with true quality. Get ready for ear-drum shattering sound, with MSI Audio Boost! With Audio Boost we're delivering the highest audio quality so you can enjoy crystal clear sound and music in games.

Because the complete audio circuitry is isolated from other features, you'll enjoy less interference and more stability.

The built-in headphone amplifier allows you to use studio-grade headgear and get the most amazing sound quality out of your PC.

OC Genie 4

We have implemented the revolutionary OC Genie 4 button on the MSI Overclocking motherboards. Just press the OC Genie button, on the motherboard or in Click BIOS 4, to achieve a stable overclock in just one second, giving your system a nice performance boost.

CPU Overcurrent Protection

When the MSI Overclocking motherboard detects a failure from hardware such as the CPU, it will shut down, prevent booting and protects other hardware from damage by disconnecting power to it. A red LED let's you know that overcurrent protection is active.

GO2BIOS

Entering a BIOS can be a frustrating job. Because nowadays motherboards boot Lightning fast, we added the GO2BIOS button. Simply push it before you start or restart your system and you'll go straight to the system BIOS when your motherboard powers on.

Intel® Ethernet

Always connected with Intel® Gigabit LAN networking. Optimized for multimedia and gaming use to deliver a stable and fast network connection. Even when using LN2, to make sure you can upload your record-breaking scores.

Intel® Wi-Fi AC & Bluetooth

The MSI Overclocking motherboards come with an easily unpluggable Intel® Wi-Fi / Bluetooth module which also supports Intel® WiDi (Wireless Display). This way you can easily connect to other wireless devices in your home.

The support of 802.11 AC and Bluetooth 4.0 ensures that you have the fastest available transfer speed. With Intel® WiDi and a WiDi receiver (not included) you can watch movies on your TV without the need for any cables.

Package content

What's in the box? Check it out for yourself! Besides a plethora of necessary cables and connectors you also get a cool Do-Not-Disturb door-hanger, a slick MSI OC series case badge, a set of cable labels and the stylish all black M-shield.

Front side of I/O panel

I/O Panel Ports Label

Dark coating

Back side of I/O panel

Force Absorbing Layer (NEW)

Aluminium Interference Shielding

Steel Shielding

Case badge

Door hanger

Cable labels

1. The specifications may differ from areas and we keep the right to change without notice. Please check the specific specification with your local dealers.

2. The color of the product might be affected by photography and the monitor's setting, which might be different from the real product.

“... Intel designed to withstand large current is obtained in OC Z97 equipped mother. Subesu of CPU around easy mounting large CPU cooler widely. There is a simple mode to OC or BIOS settings button that automatically optimizes the setting of OC, also rec...

“While the MSI Z97 MPOWER MAX AC comes in on the expensive side of things, the performance, bundle, and overall build quality really do speak for themselves.”
“In regards to overclocking, we saw the board really shine with the highest overclock out of ...